Innovation funding for tidal energy in Orkney

Tidal energy testing and demonstration in Orkney waters is being backed by just over €3.9 million in funding from the European Commission.

Awarded under the Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) scheme, the funding is split between two projects - the InToTidal project and Ocean 2G.

Led by Tocardo, the InToTidal project will demonstrate integrated deployment solutions for the company’s well-developed tidal turbines. The project’s partners are the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), Orkney company Leask Marine, and Ifremer.

The Ocean 2G project is being led by Magallanes, and brings together EMEC, Leask Marine and ABB to help develop the second generation Magallanes tidal technology.

Oliver Wragg, EMEC’s commercial director, said: “This is fantastic news for the ocean energy sector. I’m delighted that the EU is supporting full-scale testing and demonstration to help progress towards a commercially-viable industry.

“It’s hard to secure private investment for real sea testing of ocean energy technologies so grant support is vital at this stage of development.

“Combine this with EMEC's wave and tidal testing infrastructure, which has been designed to help minimise the cost of ‘getting metal wet’, and we have a winning combination to prove technology performance and help leverage private investment into the sector.”

FTI is run by the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020.